Wednesday, April 21, 2010

FOOT WARMER

FOOT WARMERQ: This picture is of the mark on a pottery "pig" we found. It has several places without the glaze. Can you give us any information about its origin and value?

A: You used an unfamiliar but correct name for your antique. Foot warmers are sometimes called "pigs." The proof is in the words "For Cold Feet" on the top of your stoneware jug. It's a foot warmer, which was used to keep a person's feet warm in the cold weather. In the days before homes with central heat and cars with heaters, they were necessary. Foot warmers were made of pottery, tin, or soapstone and held charcoal or hot water. Yours would have been filled with hot water. The warmer was put under a person's feet and then their legs and feet were covered with a blanket to keep in the heat. Your foot warmer was made by the Adirondack Hardware Company in Saranac Lake, New York. The damage hides the words "Ad-Har-Co., Trade Mark, Stone Pigs." Stoneware foot warmers like yours usually sell for $50 to $100, but because yours is damaged it is worth about half.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Red Queen in the new Alice in Wonderland had a "pig'. Hers was real!

the klirs said...

Hello,
I have a very old Scrapebook just filled on every page with old Valentinens day cards, Birthday cards and just about any kind of old card yu can thin of. The Scrapebook is in great condition and al the cads are as well. They loook as though they put a dab of paste on back of thecards to holf them. I'm afraid to try to tak them off as i wouldnt want to mess them up.Can you tell me what a Scraebook full of alll these old cards value would be worth today and if i shuld take the cards off?Tha paer they are on is an all black paper. thank you.